CNR:

The SPP issued its eighth procuratorial suggestion in the first half of this year to help address major problems regarding the supervision and management of work safety. What progress and achievements have the people's procuratorates made in recent years to promote the rule of law and improve people's sense of gain in this aspect? Thank you. 

Tong Jianming:

Thank you for your concern about and support for the procuratorial work.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important instructions on procuratorial work. Last year, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, the CPC Central Committee issued a guideline on strengthening legal supervision work of the people's procuratorates in the new era. Procuratorial organs at all levels have adhered to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, and improved the new pattern of the legal supervision featuring four major functions regarding criminal, civil, administrative, and public interest litigations. Progress has been made in reforming the procuratorial work in the new era in terms of its functions, organizations, and mechanisms, playing a positive role in building a law-based country. 

We have attached great importance to the guidance of the rule of law. Since the reform and opening up, the pattern of crimes committed across the country has seen remarkable changes, with a continuous and dramatic decrease in murder, robbery, and other serious violent crimes, while there has been a sharp rise in new types of crimes that endanger economic and social management order such as dangerous driving and telecom fraud. Against this backdrop, procuratorial organs have maintained severe punishment for serious crimes while also making great efforts to combine punishment with clemency in criminal prosecution and conscientiously implementing the criminal justice policy of making "fewer arrests, prudent prosecution, and cautious detention." We have ensured the implementation of the sentence bargaining system to improve social harmony. The percentage of pre-prosecution custody of criminal cases has dropped from 69.7% in 2012 to 28.3% in the first nine months of this year, marking notable judicial progress. We have handled a series of justifiable defense cases, including the Kunshan case, in an objective and justice manner, showing that "the law will prevail over illegal activities" in order to encourage the citizens to help others for a good cause.

We have made great efforts to enhance legal supervision over litigation activities. The SPP has worked with the MPS to establish a mechanism for investigation, supervision, and collaboration, with over 3,600 offices being set up, thereby ensuring effective supervision and better cooperation. From 2013 to September this year, a total of 119,000 protests were filed against criminal, civil, and administrative judgments deemed erroneous. A circuit procuratorial mechanism has been established to improve the supervision over the execution of penalty in prisons. We have also stepped up efforts to strengthen legal supervision over investigations, trials, and execution of penalties. By doing so, we are striving to make the people feel a sense of fairness and justice in every judicial case.

We insist on the active performance of duties to promote litigation source governance. Deeply implementing the idea that advancing the rule of law should not only focus on the end to "cure disease," but also focus on what is in front to "prevent disease" as stressed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, the SPP summarized and analyzed judicial data and typical cases, and issued the first eight procuratorial suggestions around campus security, sewer manhole management, cyberspace governance, and workplace safety as mentioned by the reporter just now, promoting the organic combination of governance and punishing crimes, and striving to prevent crimes from occurring at their source.

For the first time in history, the work report to the 20th CPC National Congress specifically emphasized that "Procuratorial organs will step up legal oversight," which represents the Party's trust in and expectation for the procuratorial organs. We will thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, more consciously adhere to the establishment of both Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Two Upholds, strengthen and improve legal oversight, and make new contributions to deepening law-based governance in all respects and building a Chinese path to modernization. Thank you.